This past weekend was time for some experimenting. i found myself in the painting studio in the wee small hours just itching to open up all those dyes you see lined up on the easel. i dug through my stash of silks leftover from my old wedding gown design business and found a suitable piece of habotai silk. i ripped it to a 36″ square and taped it to the back board. White duct tape. Classy. i’m certain it would have been nicer to stretch the silk onto a frame for painting, but did i mention it was the wee small hours? And i was just experimenting after all, what’s the worst that could happen? A few hours and a few episodes of PSYCH later ( i really love that show!) and i came out with what you see on the board.

The next day, i used fabric markers to add doodles all over the silk as well and here is what resulted.

It was so interesting to see how the intense looking colors in the jars translated to such watery, transparent colors on the fabric. i used Dye-na-Flow silk paints from Dharma Trading. i chose them because they seemed the most user friendly for beginners and are just heat-set with an iron. i am a very low maintenance kinda gal. If you start talking about crafts that require lots of odd ingredients and equipment, i sorta zone out. PLUS! they have a really nice variety of shades and colors….PLUS! they are economical enough to get a whole bunch to experiment with…under $3 for the small jars! My parents actually gave these to me for my birthday in november. Mom is awesome about getting you just what she knows you wanted! Thanks mom & dad!

The silk project was super fun and it made me want to try another project that i cannot believe i’ve put off so long! Lino Block Stamp Making! i have made all sorts of mickey mouse temporary stamps in my day out of potatoes, corrugated cardboard, foamcore etc….but never tried carving linoleum before.

EPIPHANY!!!!

Even though i just picked a simple design for my first time out, and wasn’t super meticulous cutting it, i know i’m hooked! Now i have visions in my head of shelves and shelves of unique patterns and such. Cutting the block is just so relaxing!

Here is the first little bitty block i cut.

And since i didn’t have a specific project in mind for it yet, i just added a few plunks of this design to the background texture of a new painting. Can you find it? i sorta obscured it with other designs….but the stamp will have its day in the spotlight sometime soon. Definitely.

“BLUESY” – 12×12 acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.

And what’s REALLY weird is that when i logged onto Facebook the day after i posted this, there was a very matchy-matchy post right below it in my feed!

Its the Pantone Spring Color predictions for what’s gonna be hip & happenin in 2012!? i am SO not hip & happenin. How did my brain know to use just about every color in this palette? Must’ve been all the PSYCH i was watching rubbing off on me. : )

“Joey” – 48″ x 48″ acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas. Closeups below ; )

Prints also available here. 11″x 11″ – $28

Creamsicle – 17×16 Acrylic & Oil on Black/Chalkboard painted wood board

….in progress…..a 24 x 30″ gallery wrapped canvas painted with acrylics…stay tuned.

One of my favorite things to do is “recreate” a painting i’ve already “finished.”

This painting, entitled FLOURISH, is just such a piece. i painted the soft periwinkle and magenta background quite some time ago. i was in a very soft state of mind then. i was experimenting with blending and color stories. Fast forward to now and i’ve sort of found a much different voice. So i overlaid my previously “finished” painting with a massive riot of exploding blooms and colorfully intricate petals and “flourishes.”

The painting is done on a 20×20 gallery wrapped canvas.

11×11 prints are available in my etsy shop.

You know its bad when you start photographing new shipments of art supplies as lovingly as you do your children. But…..see what arrived today!? And that’s just the first box!

i’ll be diving into my studio to start covering canvases with these yummies starting this weekend. Aren’t they precious?

…and lest you think i’ve lost my mind and my perspective, look;

i took a sweet! self-portrait of me and my littles lounging on the floor together just this evening.

Good Night!

That last post was a doozie. It sealed the deal on a few dreams i’ve been having as well. The dreams are of having a truly rejuvenating summer. A summer that is filled with sun, playtime with my boys, some work (in my sunny office!), lots of good healthy food and exercise…….and painting.

Those of you who know me will not be surprised when i tell you that the past year has been super eventful, and not in a good way. i have picked up some kinks in my neck, lines on my forehead and bad eating habits to prove it. SO! My “fake it til i make it” plan is to live this summer as if i were already IN the life to which i aspire. i will be spending a lot of time painting in my new studio (lovingly crafted by my husband). That space (pictured above) is entirely too clean, and without spatters and chaos for my taste! Oh, how i miss painting! i have gotten so caught up in the idea that i need to be prolific and produce, produce, produce, that i haven’t made a nice, big, three-weeks-in-the-making-almost-too-heavy-to-lift piece of artwork in a very long time. But i’m going to correct that. i will be making a conscious, dedicated effort to get paint on my hands every single day this summer…except maybe sundays. And i’m starting this weekend.

It’s going to change the look of this blog. You’ll start seeing less small illustrations and more pics of me stretching canvas & looking filthy and many shots of various stages of large works. i’ll be painting outside on the deck quite a bit as well. Watercolors out there…while watching my boys garden, play catch and build sand castles.

i’ve re-read my last post a few times.With each comment, i’ve seen it in a slightly new light. Funny how putting something in writing can crystallize it so perfectly. i don’t want to be happy in the near or distant future. i want to be happy today. And right now, i think that means i need to take a few steps back from being a mini factory and a few steps toward making some lasting pieces and getting lost in the process.

So that’s the plan. i’m excited to see what comes of it. : )